Spectator falls from stands at ACC Championship in Charlotte

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A 22-year-old man is in critical condition after falling about 40 feet off a fourth-floor ramp outside Bank of America Stadium on Saturday.

The Charlotte Observer reported that Charlotte-Mecklenburg police identified the victim as Sean Michael Powers, a resident of New Port Richey, Fla.

Officials said it happened at the ACC Championship between No. 13 Florida State and Georgia Tech. It’s unclear if he was a student at Florida State.

Michael Stanford, the supervisor of special operations for Mecklenburg County EMS, said his agency responded to an incident in which a spectator fell from a ramp leading to the stands shortly after the 8 p.m. kickoff.

Officials said the fall is the first of its kind from Bank of America Stadium, home of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers. The stadium opened in 1996.

Stanford said the spectator was transported by ground to the trauma center at Carolinas Medical Center with “life-threatening injuries.”

Major Eddie Levins of the Charlotte Police Department said officers are “investigating what is being referred to as a public accident. A 22-year old male fell from what is thought to be the fourth level of the stadium.”

They had no comment on the extent of his injuries.

Bank of America Stadium has switchbank ramps that that take fans to the upper level of the stands.

The man fell on to a grassy area, which was taped off by police. Witnesses were taken to the police office for questioning.

Bud Elliott, 47, from Fort Myers Fla., said he came across the accident just after it happened around kickoff and several fans were looking down from the ramps.

“I came upon a crowd of people who were running,” Elliott said. “They said this guy jumped or fell off. It didn’t look good. It’s just really sad to have something like that happen.”